Patrol cars are intimidating enough, but now comes news that will make seeing red and blue lights in your rearview mirror even more blood-chilling: Ford makes some seriously quick police cruisers.

The Blue Oval’s 2016 Police Sedan and Police Utility were recently evaluated and tested against their crime-fighting competitors by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and Michigan State Police (MSP). All the vehicles’ stability and traction control systems were left in their default modes, just the way they are when officers on the beat get into them and turn them on. The EcoBoost Interceptor Sedan outran the HEMI-powered Dodge Charger and the Chevrolet Caprice with the 6.0-liter V8 from 0-60 mph by hitting the benchmark speed in 5.8 seconds in the LASD’s evaluation; the Mopar muscle sedan needed 6.6 seconds and the Chevy required 6.7. The MSP also recognized it for having the best acceleration among overall pursuit vehicles. During the LASD’s Fontana/Auto Club Speedway High-Speed Pursuit and the MSP’s Grattan Raceway tests, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost Interceptor Sedan nailed down best-in-class lap times.

The 2.0-liter EcoBoost Special Service Police Sedan not only improved upon the 0-60 and 0-100 times of the 2011 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, but it passed the LASD’s 32-lap Fontana Vehicle Dynamics test to earn the title of “pursuit rated.”

Both organizations found the EcoBoost Interceptor Utility to be the fastest accelerating vehicle of its kind. In fact, it was quicker than all of the base V6 cars against which it was pitted. It achieved the shortest lap times in its class at both the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California and the Grattan Raceway in Belding, Michigan.

-2.0-liter Special Service Police Sedan now “pursuit rated” by both Michigan State Police and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department; tests faster than Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 30, 2015 – New testing protocols adopted by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) last year and Michigan State Police (MSP) this year only underscored the performance dominance of Ford’s best-selling Police Interceptors. In the most recent tests performed by LASD and MSP of 2016 model-year vehicles, both the Ford EcoBoost® Police Interceptor Sedan and the Ford EcoBoost Police Interceptor Utility set records and beat out competitors.
“We are proud to maintain our performance advantages, and these validate Ford Police Interceptor leadership,” said Arie Groeneveld, Ford Police Interceptor chief engineer. “We love the bragging rights, but for these officers, best-in-class performance is a huge safety attribute. Pursuits that end quickly are more likely pursuits that end safely. This team is obsessed with officer safety.”

For the first time ever, both police agencies conducted testing with a “key on and drive” policy, meaning stability and traction control settings were in default mode, as when the vehicles are first turned on and how officers drive these vehicles in the real world. LASD began implementing the test protocol last year.
Ford EcoBoost Police Interceptor Sedan repeated its top performance in MSP and LASD testing of 2016 police vehicles, retaining its title as quickest-accelerating pursuit vehicle, and turned in faster lap times than all competitors.

The EcoBoost-powered Ford Police Interceptor Sedan bested all vehicles, including V8-equipped competitors’ sedans in testing by both Michigan and California authorities, while Ford Police Interceptor Utility with EcoBoost out-accelerated the competition’s newest V8-equipped utility and all base V6-powered sedans.
Interestingly, the 2.0-liter EcoBoost Special Service Police Sedan test results showed the turbo four-cylinder to be quicker to 60 mph than the last Crown Victoria Police Interceptor tested by MSP for the 2011 model year (8.6 vs. 8.9 seconds).

-Both the 3.7-liter and 3.5-liter EcoBoost Interceptor Utilities achieve faster average lap time than a competitor’s utility vehicle, having implemented a “Track Detect” automatic stability control mode, which reduces stability control intervention